Edmonton to host only Canadian FISE event

Extreme sports fans in Edmonton will get their fix this September.

The FISE (International Festival of Extreme Sports) World Series will make the city its only Canadian stop, at Hawrelak Park from Sept. 16-18.

The event will host many of the world’s best athletes in such non-mainstream sports as mountain bike slopestyle, BMX flat and freestyle competition and skateboarding.

FISE World Series started almost two decades ago in Montpellier, France, and has grown into an event with worldwide notoriety.

Edmonton will host this event over the next three years.

Other tour stops include Montpellier, Denver, Osijek in Croatia, and Chengdu, China.

“We’ve been doing this in France for 19 years, and three years ago, we decided to go global,” said Alexandra Dardevet, the international project manager for the festival.

“We started small, but we’ve branched out into China and other parts of Asia, and we’re very pleased to have Edmonton as a host moving forward.”

Edmonton has hosted many international events over the years.

With the success of last year’s Red Bull Crashed Ice event that saw more than 70,000 spectators attend the finals, Edmonton proved to be enough of a hot spot for the FISE World Series.

“Wehadanopportunityto host some of their delegates when Red Bull Crashed Ice was in Edmonton, and it showed what Edmonton had to offer for this kind of event, and they loved it,” said Renee Williams, director of communications and distribution for Edmonton Tourism.

While many of the sports that will be showcased at the FISE World Series are similar to what you see on TV with the popular XGames, FISE puts a strong emphasis on their sport development.

“Part of our DNA is making this open for professionals as well as amateurs because we strive for sport development,” said Dardevet.

“We want people to discover these types of extreme sports. This is what it’s all about growing it at the local scene.”

The events in France have become very well attended. They draw more than 500,000 spectators over a five-day festival.

“We really expect this event to grow here in Edmonton over the next three years,” said Williams.

“The festival isn’t just about the sports, it will have great music, high energy, and it’s really engaging from the moment you hit the grounds until you leave.”

Williams believes that the FISE World Series could draw in upwards of 150,000 spectators over the three days at Hawrelak Park

“It’s free for spectators, so people just have to come out and enjoy it and soak it all in,” said Williams. “These are the type of events that help bring the community alive.

“They can come into Edmonton and make a weekend of it.”